Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Opportunity: Another Interior Design School?

New Year. Time for reflection. Time to take note of what is going on in life and to think about the future – what to change? what to keep? how to go about it? For many of us, the New Year breathes a sense of excitement as to what the upcoming year holds. Yet as my year commences, I find myself a bit more pensive than usual about 2011.

I'm always telling myself to be open to new opportunities...

(stylish door of designer Kristen Buckingham's store in LA.)

As my faithful readers may recall, the Moss clan had considered a move to Big D. The discussion centered around both hubbie and myself being closer to work and/or school (cutting the commute and tolls in half) as well as various other really good reasons. Also part of the diatribe, is the fact that I am absolutely in love with interior design. I am living the life that I should have lived the first time around. My job is wonderful. I look forward to it every day – drive time or not. Those two worlds (the time and the dream) often collide. Despite the occasional, “Wow, you are living the dream”comments, my life is out of whack right now. Something has to give.

Enter the infamous pro/con lists. With my life tilting towards crazy sidled up next to exhausted, it’s time for a new outlook. Take the Art Institute of Dallas: phenomenal professors, awesome classmates, and a perfect 4.0 gpa. Cons of the Art Institute of Dallas: challenging schedule, limited class time frames and a young family that needs me around. (A quick shout out to my homies in the hood – thank you for your tireless efforts to shuffle kids in order to make my dream come true and to you, hubbie. You are more supportive than the typical bear with those two crazies in tow.) So, what are the possibilities?

Monday 8:00am – 12:00pm - Kids get on bus without me in conjunction with the aid of my neighbor for 12 straight weeks. Monday holidays thrown in create much stress.

Tuesday 6:00 pm-10:00 pm – Head out for school at 4:45 to battle rush hour. Drive downtown with kids so honeybun can meet me to trade boys and head home with them for dinner. Total kid time in the car …over 2 hours. Reminiscent of planes, trains and automobiles. Hubbie travel schedule picking up so out of luck on travel weeks.

Saturday 1:00pm-4:00pm –Sweet! Honeybun at home and very little traffic. Not so sweet. Number one’s b-ball games at 1:00 so I will miss all of them. Did I mention 4 hours on Saturday???

Do you see my dilemma? It’s a never ending cycle – time away from family or time away from my life dream. Time away from my life dream or time away from my family.

Thus emerges option numero dos -The Art Institute of Pittsburg Online Division. I initially considered this as an option but at that time the school was not CIDA accredited. In other words, the program would not have let me sit for the NQIUDA exam at the end of my degree. That’s a big deal in the design world. Low and behold, if that silly school did not gain their accreditation within recent months! Problem solved…almost. I still need to do some more evaluation of the online option but it does offer me some flexibility that was not available to me earlier and for that I am thankful.

More time attending school in my home office? It might be a better option....

It’s a bit of bummer, since I’m very social and love working with other people. But the tradeoff for increased family life while still earning my degree is just something that I can’t snub my nose at right now. Funny thing is that I have already “met” some really cool people from my online class proving that I can release my inner social butterfly just as easily in cyberspace as in real life.

With the beginning of the year, comes the beginning of a new adventure. Join me in taking stock of what’s spinning around in your life and press towards those things that give you pleasure – without risking the relationships of your inner circle. Don’t be afraid to look long and hard at the opportunities available to you. Live your dreams with confidence. Here’s to 2011!

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About Me

"And why not?" they asked me. I was silent. "What is holding you back from your dream?" I had to agree. I had read too many design magazines, painted too many hues and dreamed up too many room layouts not to try. So, I'm off to the Art Institute to get my degree in Interior Design. All while starting my own design company, working for a great designer, reading about the industry... and simply making it happen. :)